Professor rallies for Egyptians

"Beautiful" is the word ACC political science Professor Roy Casagranda uses to describe the revolt taking place in Egypt.

An effort to unclench the fist of autocratic Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the protests began on Tuesday, Jan. 25. Thousands of Egyptians flooded Tahrir Square in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and other cities, like Alexandria and Suez.

Inspired by the recent overthrow of Tunisian dictator Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, protesters have demanded the removal of Mubarak's regime by means of mass demonstrations.

The rallies have triggered a violent clash between Egyptian police and protesters. According to Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy organization, the death toll as of Thursday, Feb. 10 rests at almost 300.  

Since the early stages of the uprising, Casagranda, an expert on Middle East politics, has actively supported the uprising by helping to organize rallies throughout Austin.

To him, the Egyptian revolt, which was spurred through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, came as no surprise.

"There is no political freedom in Egypt," he said. "You can't criticize the government. You can't criticize Hosni Mubarak. If you do criticize, you can find yourself in a little bit of trouble. As a result, Egyptians have learned to hold in their frustration and resentment. They don't get a chance to voice it. The reality is that this revolution has been 41 years in the making."

The real surprise, according to Casagranda, is the way the revolution is taking place.

"The uprising is secular, meaning it's not being driven by religious concerns. It has gone out of its way to show that it's a Christian and Muslim uprising. It seems to be totally democratic at its core," he said. "It's been unbelievably inspiring to me. It has been such a pleasant surprise."

Like riots in past years, freedom-starved Egyptians are protesting against a repressive, corruption-ridden government that has faced opposition from the public since 1981, when Mubarak came to power.

But this uprising – a "revolution" according to Casagranda – could result in the emergence of a new, democratic political system, he said.

"There's a possibility that the government will collapse right now, and there's this question of what will replace it. And the hope, of course, is that it would be a democratic institution."

The revolt, which has continued to grow despite the government's enforcement of a curfew and effort to block Internet and mobile phone services, has been marked as the largest anti-government protest in Egypt's history.

"There's no doubt that there's a massive amount of anger being unleashed here. But there's also been a massive amount of humanity being unleashed. That's one of the things I think is beautiful about this."

On Feb. 11, Mubarak, who served as Egypt's longest running leader, was forced out of office despite an earlier announcement he made declaring that he would step down from office in September.

Even if Mubarak was not forced to resign, protesters showed signs that they would not discontiue the rallies.

"I doubt the Egyptians are going to be OK with him staying in office until September," said Casagranda.

"I think they want him gone right now. They had very substantial successes, and I don't think they're done. I don't think the concessions that Mibarak has given are enough to appease the majority of the people."

Amid the ongoing unrest in the Arab country, Casagranda, who spent part of his childhood in Egypt, still plans to visit soon.

"At the end of the day, Egyptians are out there in the streets protesting and risking their lives. And if that makes things hard for me a little bit, it's a small thing compared to what they're doing."

Editor's Note: This article was edited for accuracy on Tuesday, Februrary 22.